Shadow Empire

Chapter 1150 Execution
Around 3 a.m., Melo, dressed in casual home clothes, met the young man who had betrayed his family in the living room.

He looked at him, staring at him calmly, and only shook his head after the young man seemed a little uneasy. "You killed someone who had always been very good to you, and you also betrayed a friend who was very close to you."

At this moment, Xiao Ka walked in from outside. He was stunned when he saw the young man, then rushed over, jumped up and kicked him, knocking the young man to the ground where he rolled twice.

It's clear that this was an attack fueled by anger, with no reservations whatsoever.

Still not satisfied, he rushed over and kicked the guy on the ground repeatedly, but whether intentionally or unintentionally, he avoided the young man's head and kept kicking him.

After kicking him for a while, Melo had someone pull him away.

"Lance will be back in a couple of days, and then... you'll know what's going to happen to you."

He stood up as he spoke, "Lock up the rest of them and we'll talk about it when Lance gets back."

Two days passed quickly. When Director Roland learned that Lance had returned to Golden Harbor City with his men, his first thought was, "The plan has succeeded!"
If the plan had failed, Lance wouldn't be rushing back so hastily; this can only mean that their plan was successful.

What gradually made him feel uneasy was that if the plan had succeeded, why weren't they contacting him?

More than a day later, Lance's luxury convoy had entered Golden Harbor City from the intercontinental highway.

If someone drives around the clock, it's obviously much faster than taking a train, and their whereabouts are less likely to be tracked.

Trains are different. The railway is a single line; you get on at one end and off at the other, with no change in between. If someone wanted to attack Lance, they could easily ambush the train.

Planting explosives or something would put Lance at greater risk.

But driving is different. Intercontinental highways are extensive. You may see them heading south, but no one knows whether they will head west or east after going fifty kilometers, or even turn back to take another route.

Moreover, there is always someone to take turns driving, which not only ensures high speed but also high safety performance.

“You’re back!” Melo hugged Lance. “They’re in the back room now, and they’re all in stable condition. The supervisor kept asking to make a phone call, but I didn’t agree.”

Lance nodded and patted Melo's arm. "You'll have to keep an eye on them while I'm gone. Take me to see them."

Melo nodded and turned around with Lance, glancing at Hyram standing behind Lance. "I heard you have some kind of hearing problem?"

Helam pretended as much as possible that he could hear her, “Yes, the road was a bit too bumpy.”

Melo turned to look at Lance. "Has he always been like this?"

Lance couldn't help but smile. "The doctor said he's still in the recovery period. His hearing will improve a lot, but it certainly won't be fully recovered."

"If the opportunity arises, we can perform more surgeries, or explore other methods. We'll see when the time comes."

"If you don't want to play guessing games with him, you'd better speak louder so he can hear you."

The group entered the house behind the manor, a house that looked very simple. This was the first time the young people had entered this place.

He had heard that this was where the Lance family carried out executions. They would kill the people they wanted to kill here, then dispose of them and find a way to send them out to intimidate everyone.

He had always wanted to infiltrate this place to find evidence of Lance family crimes, especially murders, but he never had the chance.

You have to be at least a team leader to have a chance to come here, even if you're not a core member.

As an outer member, he couldn't even get into Lance Manor, let alone such a core place.

This time, he did get in, but as a prisoner.

He was a little nervous; it would be a lie to say he wasn't. Anyone would be nervous in that situation.

He roughly knew his fate, and he wanted to face it calmly, but the thought that he might be executed for honor when Lance returned made him feel a little scared.

He even had an urge to wish that Lance would never come back in his lifetime!
Including the day he "fled," it took two days for him to become much more haggard. His mind was in turmoil; he wanted to think about everything, but he couldn't figure anything out.

Just as he was in a daze, someone suddenly came to the room. Someone glanced at him through the window of the iron gate, and then opened the door. "The boss wants to see you."

The young man was pushed and pulled out from inside. He slowly walked towards a larger room inside, where the ceiling, walls, and floor were all made of high-end-looking bricks and glass bricks.

The first thing a federal building materials company developed was to add a glass-like coating to the surface of ordinary mosaic tiles, making them easier to clean.

It was an instant success upon its release; its beauty and elegance are the impressions everyone has of it.

And of course, it's easy to clean.

Standing on these gleaming bricks, the young man could already imagine that when his blood splattered on them, those around him wouldn't need to use any complicated methods to clean up the bloodstains.

All they need to do is spray a special chemical cleaner once, then rinse with water, and everything will be spotless.

His body trembled slightly with fear.

Lance wasn't there yet; he was waiting.

About seven or eight minutes later, he heard footsteps and voices talking outside, two of which he recognized.

One was Lance's voice. He had heard Lance speak before, not from very close range, but he would never forget that voice—it was the voice of his enemy.

There was another voice he couldn't forget, but its presence here only fueled his anger!
The anger seemed to have dispelled the fear within him, and he stared wide-eyed at the doorway with hatred.

The first to enter was Melo, the third-in-command of the family. Although outsiders rarely talked about him, he didn't participate much in aggressive activities, such as firefights or gang wars.

However, within the family, he was considered the third most important person after Erwin, and someone Lance trusted.

Then came Lance White, someone he could never forget!
Even now, he still can't forget everything he saw that day. His life, his future, everything was completely changed because of this person!

The third person who entered the room paused for a moment upon seeing him, then gave an awkward smile. The young man gritted his teeth and forced out his name—

"Chief Derek."

Derek was in a bit of an awkward position. Their original target was Lance, but now he was standing here, in the very heart of Lance Manor.

His former subordinate probably already believed that he had betrayed him. He could only sigh. This matter... was really hard to sort out.

Lance watched this scene with great interest. "Your subordinate is practically ready to bite you right now. Don't you want to explain yourself?"

Derek didn't quite understand why Lance had such a strong sense of morbid humor, but given the opportunity, he did intend to explain.

“If I say it has nothing to do with me, you definitely won’t believe me.”

"In reality, your methods are crude and inferior; only Roland would think they could fool anyone else."

At this moment, Melo, who was standing to the side, felt a little embarrassed; he had indeed been fooled.

If he hadn't called Lance, and Lance hadn't calmly and rationally analyzed the situation with him, he might have already fallen for Roland's trick.

Derek had no idea that a casual remark had made Melo think he was stupid. He glanced at Lance and said, "Actually, Mr. White saw right through your plan. He called me and asked about it."

“We’ve talked about this before, and after careful consideration, I’ve acknowledged it.”

The young man didn't listen to his explanation at all and said viciously, "Traitor!"

This made Derek almost burst out laughing, a mixture of helplessness, anger, and a touch of grievance.

"Rather than calling me a traitor, you're just a fool who was used by Roland!"

After he finished speaking, he shook his head, not wanting to say anything more to the young man. He couldn't reason with him; he was a fool whose eyes were blinded by hatred and who was being used by hatred.

Derek's last shred of pity vanished; he felt he had done nothing to wrong the young man.

Lance noticed his change in mood and had some chairs brought over, so they sat down. He didn't say anything first, and after a moment of silence, Derek asked, "Can I take him away?"

“I guarantee he will never appear in front of you again in this lifetime, nor will he ever appear in Golden Harbor City, Likalai State, or anywhere else you are. You will never see his shadow.”

Derek also has his own network of connections, and if Lance agrees, he plans to send this idiot abroad.

This was the only thing he could do for the other person during all the time he had been their boss.

Lance shook his head. "He killed my men. If he hadn't, I could have agreed to your request, but he did. You know, in this city, no one is allowed to provoke us and then leave safely."

"I invited you here today partly because I want to have a talk with you. You need to get rid of all the people you've planted."

“I don’t like playing such boring games. You should also know that the people you’ve planted can’t possibly get involved in any core family matters.”

"Instead of letting them waste their time here, let's think about how to arrest those criminals outside the city!"

Director Derek could be considered a mid-level official in the FBI. The FBI only has one agency, while all others, such as the Lycalley field office and the Golden City field office, are branches. If the entire FBI is divided into five levels...

Level 5 is the lowest and Level 1 is the highest, so Derek falls between Level 2 and Level 3.

Not all cities have an FBI; some areas only have state field offices, like Likalai, which has only three field offices.

One is the state branch, one is the Jingang branch, and there is another place.

They are responsible not only for crime in the city, but also for crime throughout the state.

Golden Harbor City undoubtedly has the lowest crime rate in the entire state of Likale. There is no need for the FBI here. It was originally established for Lance's benefit.

But now Lance and the Lance family have moved beyond the realm of low-level gangs; whatever they do is futile.

Derek smiled somewhat awkwardly. "I'm just a branch chief. Ultimately, I have to obey Roland's orders and requirements."

"Moreover, you know, these young people are full of righteous energy. If we don't give them a way to vent it, or find something for them to do, they might do things that I can't even believe."

Lance seemed to agree with this view, and he nodded, "You have a point, but in the future, these kinds of things need to be made public between us to avoid misunderstandings."

Derek naturally wouldn't refuse.

Lance shifted the topic to the young man, "This kid has been staring at me with those murderous eyes ever since I walked in. Can you tell me, what grudge do we have against each other?"

Before Derek could say anything, the young man spoke up, "You killed my family in New Gold City!"

"I've come for revenge!"

Lance was somewhat surprised. "Could you give me a heads-up?"

“You know, I’m a super villain. I’ve killed too many people. If you can’t make me remember, I might not even know who your parents are or why I killed them.”

These words didn't actually contain anything special, but they sounded particularly harsh to the young man. He gritted his teeth and briefly recounted the events.

His father, a policeman, offended Lance, who then confronted him, and Lance recalled the incident.

He didn't think he had done anything wrong. If someone bared their teeth at you and tried to bite you, the best response wasn't to run away or beg for mercy, but to give them a good whack on the nose.

Different people have different punches, some light and some heavy. Lance's punches are super heavy; few people can withstand a direct punch from him.

"is it?"

"I regret it, but if I could do it again, I would only do it more thoroughly."

Lance remained calm, but the young man couldn't take it anymore. "Is this really you?"

"Is this what happens after innocent people are killed?"

Don't you feel guilty?

Lance looked at him calmly. "Do you know your father?"

"Do you know that your father took bribes to try and get back at me? I was just retaliating after his plan failed."

"That's how our work and life are. If you want to hurt others, you have to be prepared to be hurt in return."

"In this world, is there anything that yields no reward without effort?"

"You are childish."

The young man didn't believe it. After all, in his mind, his father was always a positive and glorious figure. "Don't try to make excuses for yourself by slandering me like this!"

Lance shook his head and said, "I'm not making excuses for myself. Think about your life."

"If your father is just an ordinary policeman, can his meager salary support your college education?"

Police officers in the federal government are not much better off than workers; their income may be 10% or 20% higher, but their jobs are more dangerous.

If a policeman doesn't take bribes, he can't afford a detached house, a car, or even send his son to college, let alone support his family's relatively wealthy and comfortable life!
These are actually the simplest and most direct pieces of evidence, but people living in a honey pot will never doubt it.

When Lance pointed it out, the young man opened his mouth, but seemed to have no strength left to refute it.

He wasn't a complete idiot to begin with, and Lance's words immediately made a lot of things clear to him.

Seeing his expression, Lance knew that he had understood.

Then a smile appeared on his face, but it was definitely not a good smile. "You see, the truth becomes clear once it is debated."

“I have no more confusion, and I think you do too, so let’s begin,” he said, glancing at the young captains standing by the wall.

This was an honorary punishment, and Derek stood up somewhat uncomfortably. "I have some things to do in my office..."

Lance looked at him and asked, "Aren't you going to try again?"

Derek pursed his lips, glanced at the young man, and shook his head.

Lance gestured for Melo to take him out. The young man, who had previously harbored some hatred for Derek, now desperately wanted Derek to stay.

He watched Derek leave the room with bated breath, his body beginning to tremble.

Two captains walked behind him and tied him to a torture device. One of the captains in charge of the execution took off his coat and took out some torture devices.

His face wore a cruel expression. "You have committed the crimes of deceiving the family, betraying the family, and murdering your brothers. On behalf of the Lance family, I hereby bring you to trial..."

He used a dagger to pry open the young man's mouth. The action was so brutal that the young man dared not not open his mouth. He had only resisted for a moment, and the dagger had already cut his lips. The pain and fear forced him to open his mouth.

Immediately afterwards, a hook was inserted into his mouth, hooked his tongue, and pulled it out.

A moment of numbness was followed by a sharp, burning pain!

People around came to help, and they sewed his tongue into his left hand with needle and thread, which represented his atonement for the lie.

As he struggled, they slowly peeled off his face piece by piece with a knife, then set it aside.

This will be stuffed into his mouth later as a warning to the world.

Then his right hand, where his heart would be placed, as a symbol of his repentance for his murdered brother!
Tomorrow the entire city will see this guy, and everyone will clearly realize the serious consequences of betraying the family and harming members of the Lance family!

Amidst the constant screams, the young man was so terrified that he lost control of his bladder and bowels. Only then did he realize that he was not as strong as he had imagined!

(End of this chapter)